Search found 23 matches
I do not believe that either possible strengthener actually strengthens the argument. I would eliminate those answer choices almost immediately. For #1, the fact there is more than one student in the class never connects in any way to the idea of being intelligent. Since the possible answer has noth...
- by Jake@ThePrincetonReview
Thu Jun 21, 2018 2:06 pm- Forum: Critical Reasoning
- Topic: Seeking clarification on a Basic Concept
- Replies: 2
- Views: 946
The answer here is B. As is common with many difficult "strengthen" questions, the correct answer strengthens by removing a possible weakness, as opposed to strengthening by adding some piece of information. This argument concludes that it is unlikely that Benin’s knowledge of brass cast...
- by Jake@ThePrincetonReview
Thu Jun 21, 2018 1:52 pm- Forum: Critical Reasoning
- Topic: Commemorative plaques cast from brass are a characteristic a
- Replies: 2
- Views: 3626
This is a simultaneous equations question demonstrating the common trap of showing two equations that are not distinct and thus not solvable for the individual variables. It doesn't matter who buys the pizzas - the prices of the pizzas are all we care about. Given: V = price of a veggie pizza. M = p...
- by Jake@ThePrincetonReview
Thu Jun 14, 2018 2:40 pm- Forum: Data Sufficiency
- Topic: A pizza place sells vegetarian pizza for a certain price and
- Replies: 1
- Views: 593
A complicated problem so I'd play with the numbers and try to prove insufficiency by showing two different answers. Evaluating Statement 1 Since the LCM of w and x is 30, and 30 has prime factors 2,3, and 5, use combinations of 2,3,and 5 to figure out what values are possible for w and x. Keeping w ...
- by Jake@ThePrincetonReview
Thu Jun 14, 2018 2:21 pm- Forum: Data Sufficiency
- Topic: w, x, y and z are positive integers such that y < z <
- Replies: 2
- Views: 952
To add a bit to this smart approach by GMATGuruNY, why choose 9 as the divisor to check? Because it's very easy to tell when a number is a multiple of 9. If the sum of the digits of the number is 9 or a multiple of 9, then the number itself is a multiple of 9. So after eliminating A because it's eve...
- by Jake@ThePrincetonReview
Thu Jun 14, 2018 1:38 pm- Forum: Problem Solving
- Topic: When n is divided by 2, 3, 5, 7 and 9, the remainder is 1. W
- Replies: 5
- Views: 1091
A conceptual explanation: John's making at least 5% (5,000 is 5% of 100,000) interest. An equal amount invested at 4% and 6% would result in an average interest rate of 5%. Any more than half that 100k invested at 4% would bring that average down to below 5% so his interest would be less than 5,000....
- by Jake@ThePrincetonReview
Wed May 30, 2018 2:40 pm- Forum: Problem Solving
- Topic: John invested a total of $100,000 in two accounts. The fir
- Replies: 2
- Views: 631
It's often easy to do any question of this type by using real numbers. For this question, imagine that it takes 21 gallons to fill the pool. (I specifically chose a multiple of 3.5 and 3 to make the math simple.) So Pool = 21 gallons. Next, break down each person/machine/pipe rate into a number of g...
- by Jake@ThePrincetonReview
Wed May 30, 2018 2:25 pm- Forum: Problem Solving
- Topic: A pipe fills a pool in 3.5 hours. If the flow of water is
- Replies: 3
- Views: 750
You could also solve this problem with what's called a probability tree. It's basically the same idea as counting but with a handy tree visualization! From the "top" of the tree, draw 5 branches going down, labelled 1,2,3,4 and 5 at the bottom of the "branch". These represent you...
- by Jake@ThePrincetonReview
Fri May 18, 2018 1:52 pm- Forum: Problem Solving
- Topic: If a number between 10 and 50 (inclusive) at random.
- Replies: 3
- Views: 829
Sure. All you need to understand is that the number is negative and it's a fraction between 0 and 1. There are rules. Square a negative number and the result is a positive number so b and d will both be positive while a and c are negative. (Even exponents always result in positive numbers). So with ...
- by Jake@ThePrincetonReview
Fri May 11, 2018 11:42 am- Forum: Problem Solving
- Topic: Which of the following options correctly describes
- Replies: 2
- Views: 652
I'd think through this one using a practical rather than a mathematical approach. Take 2 coins that are different sizes, such as a penny and a quarter. Play with them for a bit and you'll see that the maximum number of points of intersection is 2. There's just no physical way to make them intersect ...
- by Jake@ThePrincetonReview
Fri May 11, 2018 11:17 am- Forum: Problem Solving
- Topic: What is the maximum number of points of intersection of two
- Replies: 1
- Views: 623
Alternatively, you could just use the answer choices to solve this problem. Let's start in the middle, with answer choice C: If the "shorter" side is 34 feet, the "longer" side would have to be 6 feet in order to make the perimeter equal to 80 [(2 x longer side) + (2 x shorter si...
- by Jake@ThePrincetonReview
Fri May 11, 2018 11:12 am- Forum: Problem Solving
- Topic: The perimeter of a rectangular garden is 80 feet, and the
- Replies: 3
- Views: 817
I'd just write out departure and arrival times for each train and look for the least possible wait times. Train X: With just over 4 hours of travel time [1 (3/4) + 2(1/3)] the train leaving at 11am is the last possible one to catch to get to Z no later than 3:30pm Departs Arrives 6am 7:45am 7am 8:45...
- by Jake@ThePrincetonReview
Wed Apr 18, 2018 12:25 pm- Forum: Problem Solving
- Topic: A woman is planning a trip that involves 3 connecting
- Replies: 2
- Views: 727
A different (and quite easy) strategic approach to solving this problem without getting into square roots, the distance formula, or the Pythagorean theorem is to create a rectangle and subtract the areas of the right triangles not contained in the triangle you're looking for. Specifically, make poin...
- by Jake@ThePrincetonReview
Wed Apr 18, 2018 11:12 am- Forum: Problem Solving
- Topic: In the rectangular coodinate system, the vertices of a
- Replies: 2
- Views: 754
First, this question is crazy easy because 200 is clearly greater than 40 and thus more than 100% of it, so only one answer choice is even in the ballpark. Alternately, you should know that 100% of something is the number itself. "Double" = 200%. Triple = 300%, etc...so since 200 is 5 time...
- by Jake@ThePrincetonReview
Wed Apr 18, 2018 10:50 am- Forum: Problem Solving
- Topic: 200 is what percent of 40?
- Replies: 6
- Views: 1061
The key to this problem is to use the formula: Distance = Rate x Time. Step 1: Find the total distance the rocket has traveled. Part I: Rocket goes up: The rocket soars for 12 seconds (time) at 150 meters per second (rate). D = R x T D = 150 m/s x 12 s D = 1800 meters Part II: Rocket comes down: Dis...
- by Jake@ThePrincetonReview
Fri Apr 13, 2018 2:55 pm- Forum: Problem Solving
- Topic: A rocket soars for 12 seconds at 150 meters per second.
- Replies: 3
- Views: 878